Ron Machen

After successfully charging D.C.’s second-highest elected official for bank fraud and campaign finance violations and forcing his resignation, you’d think U.S. Attorney for D.C. Ron Machen would be in something of a celebratory mood. But at a press conference late this afternoon Machen wasn’t about to start popping the champagne, opting instead to offer stern warnings that public corruption cases remained at the top of his agenda.

Saying that Brown had “traded away his principles for personal gain,” Machen stressed that the investigation “shows the depth of our commitment to fighting corruption in our city government.” Corruption, he said, “creates cynicism, disengagement, it leads to a culture of apathy, a culture of complacency, a culture of acceptance.”

If the message wasn’t clear enough, Machen warned any other officials that may think to break local laws or violate the public’s trust. “A vigorous prosecution of elected leaders who violate the public trust and break the law is necessary to send a clear message that the District of Columbia will tolerate nothing less than a culture of integrity and accountability from our elected leaders. Those that fail to abide by the rules will pay a steep price,” he said.

Ronald T. Hosko, the Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Criminal Division, was no less direct in his warning to D.C. officials, saying that the FBI “is unwavering in our efforts to combat corruption in the District of Columbia.” He also added his own personal reflection, saying that he had been amazed to watch Brown seem so surprised about corruption in D.C. on the day that Harry Thomas, Jr. was charged for stealing funds from the city.

“I sat in amazement and watched in amazement as Kwame Brown sat on one of the TV stations and pontificated about corruption allegations that have been swirling in the District. He did so knowing fully that the sword of justice was dangling precariously over his own head,” he said.

But amid these stern warnings to D.C. officials, what remained unclear is whether Machen had anything on Brown beyond the bank fraud case and campaign finance misdemeanor—despite both those charges being a small part of much more serious allegations. While he stressed that bank fraud cases can undermine the entire financial system, Brown’s two loans—though fraudulently obtained—have either been paid back or are current. (The prosecutors admitted that Industrial Bank, which loaned him the money, has seen no financial hit.) Additionally, the campaign finance violations charged against Brown were misdemeanors, and, if Brown’s statements outside the courthouse this morning are to be believed, widespread in D.C. campaigns.

Was any of that worth forcing the city’s second-highest elected official to resign? For Machen, the answer was clear—yes. “We simply could not allow him to remain in office,” said Machen, referencing the campaign finance charges. Hosko said that D.C. officials’ “sense of entitlement has to stop,” a clear shot at the luxury goods that underpinned Brown and Thomas’ lawbreaking.

Still, the big money is in a broader investigation of Brown’s 2008 campaign, primarily the hundreds of thousands of dollars that were allegedly funneled to companies run by his family members and remain unaccounted for. But Machen wouldn’t speak to that, saying only that there was no evidence that Brown stole campaign funds. He added that no further charges against the former council chair were forthcoming, even though the investigation would continue.

Maybe Machen had hints of a bigger case against Brown, but not enough evidence to make it. But instead of letting the perfect be the enemy of the good, he charged what he could—and leveraged the entirety of the allegations against Brown to force him out of office. Or maybe this is merely the tip of the iceberg, and Machen has only begun uncovering Brown’s misdeeds. This could also be a message Mayor Vince Gray, himself under federal investigation—we may not have the whole case against you, but we have enough to get you.

No one knows but Machen, and today he had yet another resignation under his belt to make the case that he’s dead serious about fighting public corruption.